By A gaming laptop that goes above and beyond is the Lenovo Legion 9i. Having the best CPU and GPU possible is standard for a high-end gaming laptop. In addition, the liquid cooling system on this 16-inch gaming laptop produces amazingly cool surfaces while delivering excellent performance. Additionally, Lenovo includes a mini-LED display with an astonishing maximum brightness of 1200 nits, enabling high-definition gaming on the road, whereas many gaming laptops cut corners on the display.
This fantastic bundle is made even more remarkable because it is housed in a 5.51-pound laptop. However, the cost of this amazing hardware is the same as that of any high-end gaming laptop.
Specification
The Lenovo Legion 9i (Gen 9) top-tier gaming laptop has an elite Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU. Back in January, we evaluated the fastest mobile CPU we had ever seen, and it was a part of Intel’s 14th generation “Raptor Lake refresh.” Our system has a top-of-the-line Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, but you can also obtain this machine with an RTX 4080. Although Lenovo also offers this computer with up to 64GB of RAM, our evaluation unit likewise had 32GB of RAM. Last but not least, Lenovo spared no costs on the storage: two 1 TB solid-state drives configured in RAID 0 were offered. As a result, you receive quicker storage rates and a total of 2 TB of usable capacity as opposed to a single 2 TB drive.
Notably, this system lacks a neural processing unit, much less one that satisfies Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC specifications, thus it will not be able to utilize the upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) features that Microsoft is rolling out for Windows. Additionally, Wi-Fi 7 is not supported by it. It is unavoidable: Having those functions would be wonderful for the future, especially when purchasing a laptop that costs more than $4,000. On the keyboard of this system, there is a Copilot key, though. Although the fully equipped system Lenovo lent us costs $4059 at retail, Lenovo is only charging $3,499 for this particular model. That $430 cost difference can be saved if you’re content with an RTX 4080 by upgrading to an RTX 4090.
- Manufacturer: Lenovo; Model number: 16IRX9
- Intel Core i9-14900HX as the CPU
- Computer/Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Memory: 32GB DDR5 RAM
- Display: A 16-inch 3200×2000 mini-LED display featuring 165Hz refresh rate, 1,200 nits of brightness, and HDR
- Storage: RAID 0 configuration of two 1 TB PCIe Gen 4 SSDs provides 2 TB of storage.
- Camera: 1080p camera
- Two USB Type-C (Thunderbolt 4), one USB Type-C (USB-C 3.2 Gen 1), two USB Type-A (USB-A 3.2 Gen 1), one HDMI 2.1, one combination headphone jack, one SD card reader, one DC power in, and one Ethernet (RJ45) are the available ports for connectivity.
- Networking: Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi 6E
- Biometrics: Fingerprint reader
- 99.9 Watt-hour capacity of the battery
- 0.75 x 14.08 x 10.93 inches in dimensions
- 5.51 pounds in weight
- MSRP: $4,059 as tested
Design and build quality
A well-designed 16-inch gaming laptop is the Lenovo Legion 9i. It is relatively light and small for a gaming laptop with such high-end internals, weighing 5.51 pounds and measuring 0.75 inches thick. Magnesium makes up the majority of the “Carbon Black” design, which looks fantastic with all the RGB lighting. The light bar at the rear of the laptop, the light bar beneath the palm rest, and the keyboard all feature RGB illumination on this device. One unique design decision is the “carbon pattern” design. In person, it appears much better. The “Legion” emblem on the lid alternates between several RGB hues when the device is powered on.
The liquid cooling technology that is built into this laptop is quite effective. To the touch, the keyboard remains relatively chilly. Your mouse hand is not being blasted with heated air from the side by powerful fans. Although a significant volume of air is blasted out of the rear of the laptop by this device, I was surprised by how cool it felt to have the air blow out often while gaming. This laptop operates amazingly quiet and cool for a gaming machine. It does produce heat, and you can hear the fans running. However, this machine lacks the unbearably hot components and loud fans that many gaming laptops have.
It feels well-built as well. The palm rest feels rubbery and pleasant to the touch. The hinge doesn’t wobble and opens with ease with one hand. Lenovo has added some well-considered extras in this as well. If you would like to further modify the keyboard, there is a switchable keycap kit available. Additionally, Lenovo ships this device with two chargers. You have the bigger one, a lovely 330W charging brick, for optimal functionality at your desk. When maximizing gaming performance isn’t your top goal, you can power this laptop on the go with a more compact and portable USB-C charger. This is an excellent approach to increase the machine’s portability.
Keyboard and trackpad
There is a full-size keyboard with a full number pad on the right side of the Lenovo Legion 9i. I adore having that number pad on a 16-inch laptop like this one because it makes room for everything. However, some people do choose to avoid the number pad and have the rest of the keyboard extend to occupy the area. It is up to you which you prefer. Typing on the chiclet-style keyboard is a delightful experience. Although the 1.5mm key travel may be deeper, I had no issues with it. Moreover, this notebook is thinner than a lot of those hefty gaming computers. Although it’s not as responsive as a mechanical keyboard, it’s still not mushy, and I had no trouble typing quickly on it.
The RGB illumination on each key of the keyboard is exquisite. The software that comes with it makes full use of this right out of the box, displaying keyboard animations that alternate between different hues. Additionally, only the function row keys light up when you hold down the Fn key, turning off the majority of the illumination. That backlighting setup is fantastic. Although the trackpad is smooth and fast, it is somewhat small, particularly for a laptop this size. The laptop has a sizable space set aside for cooling above the keyboard, so in actuality, the keyboard is also a tad on the tiny side. Although there are laptops with larger trackpads and keyboards, this arrangement has benefits. Because the keyboard is pushed lower than it would be on many laptops, it remains exceptionally cool for a gaming laptop during extended play sessions. It’s not too bad, but the palm rest does get a little warm.
Connectivity
There are many connectors on the Lenovo Legion 9i, all of which are thoughtfully placed. A full-size SD card reader and a combination audio jack are located on the left side. there are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports on the right side: a USB Type-C port and a USB Type-A port.
The rear has the majority of the ports. There are several USB Type-A ports (USB 3.2 Gen 1), two USB Type-C connectors (Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4), an Ethernet (RJ45) port, a DC power-in port, and HDMI 2.1 out.
This has all the ports you’ll need. The headphone jack, a few USB ports, and the SD card reader are on the sides of the laptop where they are easily accessible, and the majority of the ports are positioned in the back where they won’t get in the way of your use.
It is to be expected that the wireless connectivity possibilities are a little underwhelming. Here, Lenovo has integrated hardware that is Killer Wi-Fi 6E and supports Bluetooth 5.1. Although Intel’s Raptor Lake upgrade is getting a bit dated at this point (the company is focusing most of its attention on more power-efficient laptop CPUs like Lunar Lake), it would still be good to see Wi-Fi 7 capability on a high-end gaming laptop. Although the majority of people do not yet have Wi-Fi 7, gamers who purchase this type of expensive gear may be among the first to do so.
Performance
The Lenovo Legion 9i provided outstanding performance for gaming. I played Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty with ray tracing turned on and at the highest settings. It looked stunning and was incredibly enjoyable, especially with the screen’s superior HDR support and high brightness. Of course, to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the Lenovo Legion 9i’s performance, we subjected it to our normal benchmarks. Given Lenovo’s discussion about liquid cooling, I’d anticipate some impressive results.
This rigorous assessment yielded a 95 frames per second result for the Lenovo Legion 9i. That’s a fantastic outcome. Even if it is indeed two frames per second slower than the rival Alienware m18 R2 system, this is still well within the error range. Those high CPU performance numbers won’t always matter much in games because GPU performance is often the deciding factor. The Lenovo Legion 9i performs incredibly well overall. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 offers excellent graphical performance in addition to raw CPU performance, which is particularly noteworthy. The Lenovo Legion 9i outperformed the Alienware m18 R2, despite the latter beating it on a few benchmarks.
Conclusion
All things considered, the Lenovo Legion 9i is a powerful gaming computer with an exceptionally bright display that can provide a top-notch HDR gaming experience. Surprisingly lightweight and small in size, it feels cool to the touch. The display is a wonderful striking feature. Frequently, I observe that a lot of expensive gaming laptops have somewhat dim displays, ones that aren’t bright enough to produce high-definition visuals in games. While many other gaming laptops lack HDR gaming, the Lenovo Legion 9i does. Additionally, it has a fantastic collection of top-notch hardware with superior cooling.
The primary drawback is the cost. You don’t need to spend nearly this much money to enjoy fantastic PC gaming. However, to provide top-tier hardware, this gaming laptop doesn’t cut any corners. You won’t be sorry if you decide to invest that much money in a gaming laptop.
